A student at Elon Elementary School waits for a school lunch, which consists of pizza on Nov. 3.
The total cost of lunch debt across public schools nationwide is $194 millions, according to a 2025 report from the Education Data Initiative. North Carolina accumulates $243,639,200 a year.
However, the lunch debt from the Alamance-Burlington School System will not be a part of that number anymore — because as of right now, it has none…